Zwift Indoor Cycling Workouts Between 30-60 Minutes 

A good number of Zwift’s individual workouts fall in between a 30 and 60 minute window. There are huge fitness gains to be made at this duration and our extensive library offers something for everyone. From those seeking a little sweat, to steady endurance to the toughest workouts – this is the timeframe where you’ll really start eliciting physiological adaptations as well as gaining some mental strength. 

There are 46 individual workouts that fall in this window and in this article we’ve highlighted some of the most popular picks on the platform. Be it to bolster an existing cycling plan or triathlon plan or as a standalone session, the below are all time efficient as well as hugely productive. 

These sessions can be easily located either in-game or on the Zwift Companion App. Simply navigate your way to ‘workouts’ and then check the ‘Less than 60 minutes to burn’ box or filter a search for this duration.

To make each session easier to pick, we’ve broken the workouts at this duration down into parts of a ‘fitness pyramid’. Note: workouts are graded from 1-5 stars with the higher figure signifying a harder session. We have rated them accordingly below.

1. Tier 1 (The Foundation) – builds aerobic fitness with long, steady rides.
2. Tier 2 (Strength) – improves muscular endurance with moderate intensity
3. Tier 3 (Power) – Increases lactate threshold through sustained hard efforts.
4. Tier 4 (Top End) – Boosts peak performance with short, intense intervals.

TIER ONE

The base, or the foundation, of the pyramid is made up of endurance rides. Indeed any cycling programme worth its salt will feature a good deal of relaxed riding.  It’s this steady pedalling that makes you aerobically efficient. Cycling is an endurance sport and riding at this intensity shouldn’t be neglected. These sessions may feel easy but are arguably the most important component of any given training plan. Once your base has been established, it’s the facet of your fitness that will stay with you for the longest. 

No Nonsense 2/5

No Nonsense is a ride of just over 30 minutes that concentrates on Zone 3 – an intensity that will certainly make your heart rate rise but without taking too much of a toll on the legs. The session is comprised of a warm-up followed by three blocks of Zone 3 (Tempo) at six minutes apiece. These are punctuated by recovery sections of two minutes. 

Foundation 1.5/5

Foundation is a perfect fit for our pyramid analogy. It’s this kind of ride – at an intensity of no higher than Zone 2 – where the base will be given extra ballast. Your aerobic system will benefit hugely from this high-repeatable 48-minute session.

Jon’s Mix 2/5

Designed as Zwift’s development test session by co-founder Jon Mayfield, Jon’s Mix incorporates some top-end efforts before settling into two lots of steady state pedalling. This is 54 minutes of super solid endurance work and will leave you hot and sweaty but not exhausted. 

TIER TWO

The second tier of your fitness pyramid is made up of an intensity widely referred to as Sweetspot. This is a Zone that resides between Tempo and Threshold, at around 88-94% of your Functional Threshold Power. While these are workouts that will have you huffing and puffing, they won’t quite blow down your pain cave. Sweetspot sessions represent a highly efficient use of time without taking too much toll on your mind and body. Some coaches indeed argue that this intensity is the best way to build an aerobic base.

2004 2.5/5

Named after the year that cycling apparel brand Rapha was formed, 2004 is part of the cycling plan that helps you complete the annual Rapha Festive 500. This is a challenge that runs from 24 – 31 December every year during which participants are tasked with riding – you guessed it – 500km. It’s not exclusive to the festive season either. Year round you can undertake this session that ramps up from steady riding to threshold. You’ll spend a lot of time at sweetspot here – perfect for burning off those extra calories. 

Sweetspot Short (SST Short) 3.5/5

This is a challenging session that keeps you in that Sweetspot for 40 minutes in one hit – although the intensity alternates every five minutes, rotating between 88 and 96% of your Functional Threshold Power. As well as reaping a fine physiological benefit, the length of this workout makes it great for building mental strength. You’ll be decidedly uncomfortable for 40 minutes and this is where you can begin to establish a method through which to ‘park the pain’. 

Elevate and Escalate 2/5

A 35-minute ride which simply takes you through the Zones. Starting with recovery you’ll quickly step-up to Zone 2 before edging up to Zones 3 and 4. Again, this is a ‘ramp’ session and every minute will see a slight change in intensity, which, come the culmination of the ride, will have seen you accrue a good period of time in Sweetspot. 

TIER THREE

Tier Three is where the finishing touches of your fitness start. These are generally tough sessions at or around your Functional Threshold Power and must be ridden sparingly in order for your body to absorb the training stimulus. Where the first two tiers are composed of rides that are repeatable on a regular basis, we’d recommend that Tier Three rides are undertaken no more than twice a week. Attempting this kind of session on a more frequent basis would invariably result in significant fatigue or being unable to complete the workout. 

2×15 FTP Intervals 3.5/5

A classic Threshold session. This is where you’ll be asked to sit on your Functional Threshold Power for two lots of 15 minutes with 10 minutes of Zone 2 recovery separating the hard work. Again, this is where you’ll begin to ask yourself some pretty tough questions, the first of which is invariably ‘Can I stop?’, with the second usually being ‘Can I really do this?’. The answer to these questions are ‘no, you can’t’ and ‘yes, you can’ respectively. 

Interval Power Play 2/5

A slightly less daunting workout than the 2×15 FTP above, but nonetheless one that will still see you riding at just over your Functional Threshold Power for 10 minutes. Take into account that this session is just 31 minutes in duration and this equates to a pretty stacked ratio of high-end work. 

Micro into Threshold 3/5

A succession of short but very spicy intervals precede the main event of this 57-minute indoor training session. Indeed your legs will have been suitably tenderised before you tackle the 2 x 7 minute Threshold blocks that finish off a really tough workout. Undertaking Zone 4 work on fresh legs is hard enough, but here we aim to increase your durability by going into these intervals on heavily fatigue legs. For those with racing aspirations – particularly in an off-road environment – this is a workout well worth incorporating into your week.

Step By Step 3.5/5

Take the Interval Power Play workout above, give it some steroids and you’ve got a session that we call Step by Step. Like Interval Power Play the chunks of work are around a minute, but the work is harder – here we venture into Vo2 Max territory – and the recovery periods are shorter. Make sure your towel is close at hand and maybe bring a second water bottle to the party. This 40-minute workout will see the sweat flow… 

TIER FOUR

Here we put the icing on the cake, or the apex on the pyramid, with a selection of some this toughest workouts in the indoor training world. These are sessions that require mental and physical resiliience and a real desire to complete. This is the type of work that applies the finishing touches to your fitness and are usually specced into an indoor training plan in ethe latter stages, as race day, or a big ride, grows nearer.

Microbursts 4/5

Microbusrts comprises 3 × 10‑minute blocks featuring 15s efforts at 150% FTP with 15s recoveries. It garners 71 training stress points over its hour duration and will wake up any dormant muscles fibres your legs might be harbouring. The first block, while by no means easy, merely serves as a warm-up for the following two. The latter stages of this workout is where you’ll elicit those all-important physiological adaptations. 

The Gorby 5/5

Reviewed by Cycling Weekly as the toughest workout on Zwift, The Gorby accrues a training stress score of 81 over its 60-minute duration and can reduce trained athletes to tears. Also known as The Quitter – for reasons we’ll let you fathom – The Gorby consists of 5×5 minutes at 110% FTP – AKA Vo2 Max. Mine deep, but box clever too. Your mind is your most valuable asset here, if you keep a strong head, your legs will take care of the rest. Chunking each interval into manageable parts is a good starting point… 

The Wringer 5/5

While Cycling Weekly have opined that The Gorby was the hardest session on Zwift, others might beg to differ. The Wringer notches up a training stress score of 87 in just under 45-minutes. On paper, this makes it the most gruelling pound for pound offering in Zwift’s extensive workout bank. While The Gorby presents a mind game for its potential riders, The Wringer is a straight test of physical strength and power. It features 12×30 seconds at 205% of your functional threshold power, which for all intents and purposes is a full gas sprint. The first few lull you into a false sense of security, but as the session progresses and the recovery spells between sprints reduce, you’ll find your legs are no longer of this planet. Keep fighting to bring them back down to Earth.